March 12, 2010
AUBURN, Ala. - Junior Sheniqua Ferguson won a national championship in the 200 meters, two other Tigers finished in the top four in their events and another set a school record as the Auburn track and field teams wrapped up the opening day of competition at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Ferguson led a 1-2 Auburn finish in the 200 meters, winning in 23.09 seconds while sophomore teammate Nivea Smith finished second in 23.12. Ferguson, who had been third in the prelims with a time of 23.20, became the second Auburn woman to win the 200 meters at the NCAA indoor meet, joining Kerron Stewart, who won the title in 2007. Her time ranks third in Auburn indoor history, while Smith's time ranks her fifth.
The 18 team points earned by the duo is currently good enough to put the Auburn women in first place in the team standings, although just six of 17 events have been complete and the Tigers have just two more events in which they can score points.
"I ran the 60 earlier, and did well, so I really took that momentum into the 200," said Ferguson. "I wanted to execute as well as I know I can. In the heats I didn't get out as well as I should have so I had to make up for it at the end. In the final I made an adjustment and was able to win it."
In addition to her national title, Ferguson also reached Saturday's finals of the women's 60 meters. She finished fourth in her heat and tied for seventh overall with a time of 7.27 seconds, although the eight finalists were separated by just .03 seconds.
Meanwhile, sophomore Marcus Rowland finished fourth in the men's 200 meters, clocking a time in the finals of 20.62. Rowland, who clocked a personal-best time of 20.59 seconds earlier in the evening during the prelims, earned his fourth career All-American honor, and his third in the 200 meters.
Rowland also advanced to the finals of the men's 60 meter dash, winning his heat and finishing second overall with a personal-best time of 6.58 seconds. Rowland, who bested his previous best of 6.60 seconds, trailed only Florida Jeffrey Demps (6.56) in the prelims and will compete in the finals Saturday. Redshirt freshman Harry Adams finished ninth in the prelims with a time of 6.67 seconds, missing the eighth and final spot in the finals by four one-thousandths of a second.
In addition, junior Joanne Atkins blazed to a school-record time of 52.47 seconds in the prelims of the women's 400 meters, winning her heat and finishing third overall to advance to Saturday's finals. She beat the previous school record of 52.56 seconds set by Markita James in 2006.
"We had a lot of bad breaks at the SEC meet but we bounced back nicely tonight," said head coach Ralph Spry. "We did about as well as we possibly could have done tonight. It's tough for our kids who are in the 60 and 200, since they have to run three races in one night, but they did a tremendous job. The women's 200 meters was huge for us. It gives us a chance for a top-five finish. We have two big guns going tomorrow for both the women and the men and we still have a chance to be a major factor in this meet."
The NCAA Indoor Championships will conclude on Saturday. In addition to Atkins, Ferguson and Rowland, sophomore Ryan Fleck will compete in the men's high jump.